MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) on Monday said that there are currently no active COVID-19 infections among evacuees in Albay displaced by Mayon Volcano’s restive state, while 1,624 cases of acute respiratory infections have so far been recorded.
“There are no active cases nor confirmed COVID cases reported in evacuation camps,” said DOH spokesperson Undersecretary Enrique Tayag in a press conference, citing a report from the DOH Center of Health-Bicol as of July 17.
Four cases, however, were reported on July 14 but have already yielded negative results and were released from isolation.
According to Tayag, COVID=-19 vaccination is ongoing in evacuation centers, with bivalent vaccines soon to be administered.
1,624 acute respiratory infections
Tayag reported that a total of 1,624 acute respiratory infections have so far been recorded among evacuees as of July 16 — including cases of cough, colds, and sore throat.
Meanwhile, 510 cases of fever have also been recorded.
“Kung mapapansin niyo po itong reporting namin ay wala kaming sinasalaysay na sakit, syndromic surveillance po kasi ito — base sa sintomas,” explained Tayag.
(If you notice our reporting, we are not reporting any disease, because this is syndromic surveillance – based on symptoms.)
“Kung meron napaghinalaan dito ang DOH ay gumagawa sila ng confirmation, halimbawa nag-cough [and] colds alam na makikitaan ng COVID-19, so ite-test nila ‘yan, sa ngayon po walang naiulat na COVID-19,” he added.
(If the DOH suspects something, they make a confirmation. For example, if you have coughs and colds, you know that they share symptoms with COVID-19, so they will test that, so far no one has tested positive for COVID-19.)
No outbreaks
No particular outbreaks have also been so far recorded by the DOH in evacuation centers, according to Tayag.
He then assured the public that the DOH will continue monitoring the health of evacuees to ensure that no outbreaks of any kind will occur among them.